The fragmented relief, made of white Luni (Carrara) marble, was discovered in 1735 at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli and immediately acquired by Cardinal Alessandro Albani, after which it became known as the "Albani Relief". It still stands over a fireplace in the Villa Albani where the cardinal set it up in the 1760s, apart from a short hiatus 1798-1815 when it was in Paris, having been confiscated by Napoleon's troops.

Much of the Albani Collection was later sold off and the works are now dispersed among many collections and museums around the world (for example, the Capitoline Museums, Naples, Dresden and the Louvre). However, several works are still in the private collection of the villa which has belonged to the Torlonia family since 1866. Like many objects in the collection, the relief is not currently on display. Plans were set in motion in 2016 to finally exhibit the works from the Villa Albani-Torlonia, several of which have been kept in storage for many years.

An engraving of the relief, after a drawing by the portrait painter Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787), was published in 1736. Winckelmann's praised the relief and the "Antinous Mondragone" head (image, right), which he called "the glory and crown of art in this age as well as in others" and "so immaculate that it appears to have come fresh out of the hands of the artist". Notably, the engraving of the relief in his Monumenti antichi inediti (Tavolo 180) is the only one in the book to be signed by an artist, and is of a much higher quality than the other printed illustrations (even if it does make Antinous look slightly obese). His publication of the relief led to its wider fame which was further spread by the sale of plaster casts, paintings and prints. Portraits of Antinous became fashionable as an ideal of youthful male beauty from the 18th century, and were eagerly sought after by collectors.

The obelisk is thought to have been commissioned by Emperor Hadrian as a monument to Antinous. The inscriptions in Egyptian hieroglyphs on all four sides of the shaft, perhaps translated from a text written by Hadrian himself, are considered among the most important primary sources concerning Antinous and his cult (see also the inscription from Lavinium below), although it contains no biographical information about him.

The original location of the obelisk is unknown, but it may have stood either in the Antinoeion at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli or in the gardens of the Palatine Hill. According to another theory, it may have been brought to Rome from Egypt in the 3rd century AD, during the reign of Emperor Elagabalus (218-222 AD), who may have set it up in the Circus Varianus near the Porta Maggiore. Equally, it is uncertain whether the Egyptian hieroglyphs were inscribed in Egypt or Rome. The unusual orthography of the text has proved very difficult to translate and interpret, making it yet another subject of debate, and it has been suggested that the text was written or inaccurately copied by someone with a poor understanding of Egyptian sacred language.

The inscription on one side is in praise of Hadrian, and on the other three sides Antinous is described as a "beautiful youth", proclaimed as the new god Osiris-Antinoos, with details of his attributes, cult and daily offerings to him, and he is depicted before Thoth, Amun, and another deity. There is also a description of the city of Antinoopolis, inhabited by Greeks and Egyptians, and the colossal temple of Antinous there, built of limestone in a mix of Egyptian and Greek styles, surrounded by sphinxes and statues. A hippodrome in the city is also mentioned. A passage on the side thought to have been the south face appears to claim that Antinous is buried at the site of obelisk, apparently at the home of Hadrian:

"The blessed one who is in the afterlife and who lies in this sacred place which is found inside the gardens of the domain of the Prince in Rome." [2]

Even if the obelisk did stand in the Tivoli villa or the Palatine gardens, this claim is no proof that it marked the actual grave of Antinous: it may have been intended as a cenotaph (symbolic empty grave).

The obelisk was discovered in 1570 by the Saccoccia brothers, owners of the vineyard Vigna Saccoccia, outside the Porta Maggiore. It appears they intended to erect it, although it is uncertain whether they managed to do so. The plaque recording their find was affixed to a pier of the Aqua Claudia aqueduct (which became part of the Acqua Felice in 1585), about 360 metres east of the Aurelian wall, and can still be seen there.

Around 1633 it was purchased by Cardinal Francesco Barberini and moved to the garden of the Palazzo Barberini, but was never erected there. In 1773 Cornelia Barberini gave it to Pope Clement XIV and it was taken to the Cortile della Pigna (Court of the Pine Cone) in the Vatican. Again, plans to set it up in the Vatican gardens were never realized. Eventually, in 1822 Pope Pius VII commissioned the Italian architect and archaeologist Guiseppe Valadier (1762-1839) to restore the obelisk, which had become broken into three pieces, and it was erected at its present location in September of the same year.

The worshippers (cultores), members of the collegium, met at a newly built tetrastyle temple of Antinous six times a year, on the birthdays of Diana (Artemis), Antinous and four important local officials. The inscription is thought to have been set up on one of the walls in the temple.

Classicistic Marble statue of Antinous as Apollo.

Parian Marble. Around 130-138 AD. Excavated 1st July 1894 [3]
behind the Temple of Apollo, Delphi. Height 184 cm.

This statue is considered important to the understanding of the iconography of portraits of Antinous since it is one of the few for which the archaeological context is known, and although the broken legs were repaired, unlike many other sculptures (particularly those from Rome) it has not been altered by modern restoration.

The findspot (see photo below) is one of the two rooms in the Roman period building west of the opisthodomos (rear porch) of the Temple of Apollo, close to the peribolos (περίβολος, perimeter wall). The function of the building is uncertain: it was dubbed "la Maison de l'Antinous" (the House of the Antinous) by the French archaeologists who discovered the statue, and is also referred to as the Propylaios and the House of the Pythia, due to inscriptions thought to refer to the building.

"It is one of the most stately statues of Hadrian's favourite in existence, and the surface has a brilliance like that of porcelain, produced by a polishing, which starts in Hadrian's time, and is produced by rubbing with wool dipped in oil and salve, the "Ganosis" often mentioned in literature.

The statue, in its blend of lost manhood and mawkish sweetness, is a typical specimen of the spirit of the Hadrianic age. The artist chose for his model a statue of Apollo from the school of Pheidias, known by two copies, one at Rome, found in the Tiber [see photo right], and one in Cherchel.

But while the powerful breast goes beyond the athletic model, the epigastrium is smooth and without muscles, and the oblique muscles of the abdomen and hip muscles are weak, while the long legs are almost feminine in their roundness and softness. In these details it was intended to do honour to the dainty youth, who is further characterised by lack of pubes, by elegant childish curls about his round cheeks, by the small dreamy eyes, the mystical sweetness of the lips and the delicate inclination of the head towards the left shoulder.

In the form of this late-antique god the Hadrianic sculptors sought to reconcile the irreconcilable; as pure classicists they brought to life again the male athlete's vigour of the fifth century, and at the same time they had to represent the prettiness of this Imperial favourite.

A Delphic inscription states that it was a priest of Apollo who proposed the introduction of the cult of Antinous at Delphi, and after his death Delphic coins were struck in his memory by order of the Amphictyonic Council. That Delphi, as little as Olympia, where was found a broken statue of Antinous, could resist the wish of the powerful Emperor, is easily intelligible but it is more wonderful that the cult of Antinous at Delphi, to judge by the circumstances of the find, lasted till the downfall of paganism.

Modern times find it hard to understand the readiness of ancient peoples to admit mortals among the gods, and in particular cannot believe in the sincerity of feelings towards this Imperial favourite. For it was not in this case a nation which had loved a fair man, as in his time Philip of Croton became a hero because of his beauty; but Antinous was raised from a low origin to the circle of the gods by the order of a ruler.

Hadrian based the apotheosis of his beloved on Egyptian religion. Herodotus in his time tells us that those who lost their lives by drowning in the Nile were honoured as sacred corpses where they came to shore [4], and thus the Emperor justified the admission of Antinous to Olympus after his mysterious disappearance.

On the Barberini Obelisk [see above], now standing on the Monte Pincio at Rome, the hieroglyphics relate how the Egyptian gods welcome Antinous into their circle, and how he prays to Harmachis for Hadrian, Sabina, and the whole empire, and begs the Father of the gods for fruitfulness of the Egyptian fields. In the dry Egyptian world of gods he was evidently a young and fresh figure, and at the same time drew closer the connexion between the old religion of the country and the cult of the Imperial house. In the whole heroizing of Antinous there is more expert policy and less love-rapture than one would a priori think.

That belief in Antinous really went down into the broad layers of the Egyptian people is shown by the numerous amulet coins with his image found in Egyptian graves, bored to wear round the neck with a ribbon, or to fasten on a mirror, often even imitated in cheaper lead. Terracotta slabs with his likeness were fastened on Egyptian sarcophagi as talismans for the dead. Even in the fourth century A.D. Antinous' name constantly appears in inscriptions on wooden mummy cases, and thus gives a sure proof of the strength and permanence of this belief.

To the expansion of the belief to the farthest parts of Greece and Asia Minor coins with his image bear witness, which are now known from more than fifty ancient cities. But that he was worshipped even in Hellas, centuries after his death, we learn for the first time from this find at Delphi.

With the Antinous statue the cycle of Greek portraiture is complete; the development finishes, as it began, in abstract divinity. But what a difference between the two athlete types, one from the dawn, the other from the evening, of the development, the strong and pithy Delphic Twins [5], and the sweet and flaccid Antinous!"

A fragmentary marble statue of Antinous from Olympia, Greece.

Around 130-138 AD. The fragments were found separately by archaeologists
between 1879 and 1939 in the Palaestra, at the sanctuary of Zeus, Olympia,
Peloponnese, Greece. Parts had been used to build a Late Roman wall at the
southwest of the Palaestra. Pentelic marble. Height 185 cm, height of head
42 cm, height crown to chin 25.5 cm.

Although the museum's labelling and literature now confidently claim the
statue to be a portrait of Antinous, perhaps as an athlete, some historians
have expressed doubts. It has been described as depicting a youth with
features similar to Antinous, and other identifications have been suggested.

Olympia Archaeological Museum. Inv. Nos. Λ 104 and Λ 208.

The nose, upper lip and right shoulder of the bust are damaged, and have been restored, but otherwise it is in fine condition. The round moulded base is inscribed in Greek with a dedication to Antinous as hero by an unknown Roman citizen named M. Lucius Flaccus (the M. probably standing for Marcus):

ΑΝΤΙΝΟW ΗΡWΙ
Μ ΛΟΥΚΚΙΟC ΦΛΑΚΚΟC

Antinoo heroi
M. Loykkios Flakkos

To the hero Antinous
(dedicated by) M. Lucius Flaccus

Inscription IGLSyr 4 1300. [6]

The identity of Marcus Lucius Flaccus is not known, although there have been a number of suggestions, including that he may have been a senior member of the gens Valeria, a prominent Roman clan, could have been a military or civil official, and was perhaps even involved in the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in Judaea in 132 AD, two years after the death of Antinous. [7]

There appears to be no exact information about when, where or how the bust was found or acquired by Antoine Napoléon Aimé Péretié (1808-1882), chancellor of the French Consulate in Beirut 1844-1882, its first known modern owner. Described as a passionate amateur connoisseur of antiquities, he engaged in and commissioned private archaeological excavations, amassing a large, varied collection of ancient artefacts from the Levant and Cyprus. He also obtained antiquities for wealthy clients, meaning that he was active on the so-called "art market" of the time, often a euphemism for the legal or illegal trade and transport of objects dug up by treasure hunters, grave robbers and amateur archaeologists.

In 1859 he met and befriended the French photographer (later industrialist and politician) Louis de Clercq (1836-1901), who was making his visit to Beirut as part of a French archaeological mission to Syria. The relationship proved advantageous to both men, and Péretié acquired antiquities for de Clerq, who started his own collection. Later de Clerq purchased the bust and several other objects from Péretié's collection. [8]

Following de Clercq's death in 1901 much of his collection was owned until 1967 by his nephew and heir Comte Henri Louis Marie Martin de Boisgelin (1897-1985). While most of the objects were donated to Louvre and the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris, others, including the Antinous bust, were put on sale. At some time after, the modern parts of the bust added during a restoration (commissioned by de Clercq?) were removed. The latest of several owners was the late businessman and philanthropist Clarence Day (1927-2009), who had one of the finest private antiquities collections in the United States. On 7th December 2010 the bust was sold to a private collector in an auction at Sotheby's, New York, for $23,826,500. [9]

There has long been confusion about where this bust of Antinous was discovered, as some publications state Banias and others the similarly-named Baniyas. Both places where once in the Roman province of Syria and were part of Ottoman Syria in the 19th century when the bust was found and first discussed by scholars. Although these two modern names appear - or, rather, sound - similar, they are both corruptions of quite different, unrelated ancient names.

Banias is an important archaeological site, inland, on the Golan Heights, today in northern Israel. Formerly part of Syria, it was occupied by Israel during the Six Day War in 1967. The ancient town, by the 20th century merely a village, was abandoned and the houses were demolished. It was known from the Hellenistic period as Paneas (Greek, Πανιάς, Πανεάς or Πανειάς; Latin, Paneas) or Paneion (Πάνειον), named after a large sanctuary of the Greek god Pan. During the Roman period it was also known as Caesarea Philippi (Καισαρεία Φιλίππεια). [11] Both names were mentioned by ancient authors, including Pliny the Elder (Natural History, Book 5, chapters 15 and 16).

Baniyas, on the other hand, is around 217 kilometres to the northeast, a Mediterranean seaport in the modern state of Syria, 55 km south of Latakia. The town has been identified as ancient Balanea, originally a Phoenician settlement, later mentioned by a number of ancient authors, including Pliny the Elder (Latin, Balanea, Natural History, Book 5, chapter 18) as well as the Greek geographers Claudius Ptolemy ("Βαλανέαι", Geography, Book 5, chapter 15, section 3) and Strabo ("Βαλαναία", Geography, Book 16, chapter 2, section 12).

Much of the confusion concerning their names is due to the historical lack of standardization in spellings of placenames in original languages and scripts (in this case Arabic) and transcriptions into the Latin alphabet by scholars writing in various European languages (mainly French, German and English).

So how, when and where was this bust found? Unfortunately, we have no published testimony directly from Aimé Péretié or his associates, and neither he nor anyone since has published a detailed account of his amateur archaeological exploits or collecting and dealing activities, which he (or his successors) may have preferred to surround with a veil of discretion.

The first publication dealing with the bust was the relatively short 1879 article (fourteen and a half pages with no illustrations) on Greek and Latin inscriptions in his collection in Beirut by the Frenchmen Pierre Marie Mondry Beaudouin (1852-1928), Greek scholar, and Edmond François Paul Pottier (1855-1934), art historian and archaeologist (he also later worked on the catalogue of the Louis de Clercq Collection, see below). They pointed out that details of the greater part of Péretié's "remarkable collection of antiquities, bronzes, terracottas, jewellery, precious stones, medals, originating from every part of Syria" had not yet been published (page 257). A comprehensive catalogue of the collection was never to appear.

In their terse description of the bust, Beaudouin and Pottier wrote that it was found at "Panias", without further explanation. This is their only mention of this placename, by which we may assume they meant Banias/Paneas/Caesarea Philippi. But can we be sure?

"Piédestal supportant un buste d'Antinoüs; trouvé à Panias. Marbre blanc."

ΑΝΤΙΝΟW ΗΡWΙ
Μ ΛΟΥΚΚΙΟΣ ΦΛΑΚΚΟC

Ἀντινόῳ ἥρωϊ
Μ. Λούκκιος Φλάκκος.

("Pedestal supporting a bust of Antinous; found at Panias. White marble.")

M. Beaudouin, E. Pottier, Collection de M. Péretié: Inscriptions, Number 2, page 259. In: Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique (BCH) Volume 3, 1879, pages 257-274. At persee.

From the article it is not clear what access the authors had to items in the collection or any documents associated with it, or what information they were given by Péretié. [13]

Considering the size, scope, historical and art-historical importance of the Péretié Collection, not to mention the consequent high values achieved by some of its artefacts on the art market, it seems surprising that deeper, more comprehensive accounts have not been published. So far I have not discovered what original documents (reports, notes, diaries, financial accounts, inventories, etc) concerning Péretié's activities are known or still exist, or what research has been made into the subject. One may also expect that Beaudouin, Pottier or other contemporary scholars may have left notes and documents accumulated during their research.

Nearly three decades later the French Classical archaeologist André de Ridder (1868-1921) featured the Antinous bust in the third volume of a catalogue of the Collection de Clercq in Paris, of which many objects from the Péretié Collection had meanwhile become part. The catalogue grew to eight volumes, gradually published between 1888 and 1912, work continuing for some years after Louis de Clercq's death. Volume 3 also contained what were for the time excellent photographic plates of many of de Clerq's marbles, including three of the bust. In his description of the bust's provenance, even more sparely written than that of Beaudouin and Pottier, de Ridder called the place of origin "Banias":

"Buste d’Antinoüs. - Anc. collection Péretié. Banias."

("Bust of Antinous. Formerly in the Péretié Collection. Banias.")

André de Ridder, Collection de Clercq, Catalogue Tome IV: Les marbres, les vases peints et les ivoires, Number 35, pages 39-40 and plates 15-17. "Publié par les soins de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, et sous la direction de MM. de Vogüé, E. Babelon, E. Pottier." Ernest Leroux, Paris, 1906. At Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

Once again, with no other apparent indication, it could be assumed that the reference is to Banias, i.e. Paneas/Caesarea Philippi. However, in an appendix at the back of the volume, Table IV, Table des provenances (page 213), the provenance of the bust (No. 35) and one other artefact (No. 116, not noted as being from Péretié's collection [see note 13]) are given as "Banias (Balanée)", i.e. Baniyas (Balanea). [14] de Ridder did not provide the source of this claim, and we do not know if he was aware of the distinction between Baniyas (Balanea) and Banias (Paneas), which he referred to as "Caesarea Paneias" and "Paneion" (page 35). He does cite the Beaudouin and Pottier article, and we might deduce that he considered their "Panias" to be an error. But Edmond Pottier is credited as one of the catalogue's directors (see citation above), even though we do not know to what extent he and de Ridder collaborated on this volume or particular entries.

A number of sources often cited in connection with the bust and its provenance, mostly brief mentions in academic articles, also prove to be dead ends in terms of answering the Banias/Baniyas question. [15] Pirro Marconi's substantial and often-cited 1923 survey of Antinous portraits, Antinoo, saggio sull'arte dell'età adrianea , long-considered a standard work on the subject, had nothing to add to the sum of knowledge concerning the bust. The shortest of entries appears at the very end of his Catalogue of works (Parte Prima - Catalogo delle opere). Apart from incorrectly referring to its owner as "Samuel Pérétié", he cites only the Beaudouin and Pottier article, and appears unaware that the bust had long-since passed into the de Clercq Collection, or of de Ridder's catalogue. [16]

In 1955, half a century after de Ridder's catalogue, Louis Jalabert and René Mouterde, French Jesuit priests and archaeologists who had both worked in Lebanon, included de Clercq's Antinous bust in their four-volume work on Greek and Latin inscriptions from Syria [see note 6], writing that it was from "Bânyâs-Balanée" along with a number of other items in their catalogue.

"Bânyâs-Balanée a fourni à Péretié un grand nombre d’antiquités." (page 51)

("Baniyas-Balanea provided Péretié with a large number of antiquities.")

They were careful to distinguish the place from the more southerly Banias (Paneas), referring to it as "Bânyâs du Sud" ("Banyas of the south") as if it were another place of the same name:

"La petite ville de Balanée ... est aujourd'hui Bânyâs, en pays alaouite (à distinguer de Bânyâs du Sud, en territoire syrien = Πανείον - Caesarea Philippi, Paneas)." (page 49)

("The small town of Balanea ... is today Banyas, in Alawite territory (as distinct from Banyas of the south, in Syrian territory = Πανείον - Caesarea Philippi, Paneas).")

Their assertion that the bust was from Baniyas/Balanea has been taken as proof by some scholars. However, they provided no evidence, merely citing the article by Beaudouin and Pottier and the de Ridder catalogue.

Among the more recent publications which state that the bust was found in Banias/Paneas/Caesarea Philippi, is a 1999 article by Elise A. Friedland on sculptures discovered there at the sanctuary of Pan. [17] She cited Hugo Meyer's 1991 book Antinoos, another standard work on archaeological objects associated with Antinous. However, Meyer wrote not only that the bust was found in "Baniyas in Syria" but that Péretié's collection was also there, rather than in Beirut. He, in turn, cited Beaudouin and Pottier, who had claimed the bust was from "Panias". It seems as if he, like a number of other scholars who have written about the bust, was not particularly interested in its provenance or the distinctions of Syrian geography.

"Kat. I 77. Kunsthandel Würzburg, 1983 (A. Neuhaus): Büste ehem. in der Sammlung de Clercq, Paris; davor in der Sammlung Péretié in Baniyas in Syrien; gefunden in Baniyas [s. die Bibliographie (Beaudouin und Pottier)]." [18]

("Catalogue No. I 77. Art market Würzburg, 1983 (A. Neuhaus): bust formerly in the de Clercq Collection, Paris; previously in the Péretié Collection in Baniyas in Syria; found in Baniyas [see the Bibliography (Beaudouin and Pottier)].")

Freidland's article dealt with the sculptures found at Banias/Paneas/Caesarea Philippi during excavations there 1988-1994, the subject of her 1997 dissertation, which she later revised as a book, published in 2012. Doubt concerning the provenance of the Antinous bust may have been one of the reasons she consigned discussion of it to an appendix, the main reason presumably being the fact that it definitely was not found during the relevant exavations. [19]

In her review of Friedland's book, Irene Bald Romano wrote of the bust's alleged findspot of "Caesarea Philippi/Panias":

"If the provenience from the Paneion is correct, it suggests a sanctuary with imperial significance in the Hadrianic period. If it is from the city site of Caesarea Philippi, it is noteworthy that only one, as yet unpublished, sculpture [i.e. the Antinous bust] has been found in extensive excavations at the city site (23, n. 7), founded in 2 BC by Herod’s son Philip just to the south of the Sanctuary of Pan." [see note 19]

John Francis Wilson, former Administrative Director of the excavations at Banias/Paneas/Caesarea Philippi, had earlier expressed his belief that the bust was discovered there in his 2004 book Caesarea Philippi: Banias, the lost city of Pan, and had also suggested some speculative consequences concerning the "imperial significance" of the site, particularly of connections with Hadrian:

"Into this general historical context we may insert a number of intriguing clues as to what was happening in Banias. First, there is the beautiful and well-preserved bust of Antinous that was discovered in the mid-1800s in Banias by M. Pétretié, Chancellor of the French Consulate in Beirut. It should be dated somewhere between 130 and 138 AD. Inscribed 'To the hero Antinous', this sculpture suggests strong Hadrianic connections in Banias. The dedicant, one 'M[arcus] Lucius Flaccus', is otherwise unknown. If the imperial cult was still centred in Herod's Augusteum, the bust may have stood in some place of honour in that temple. If not, it must have been located at some place within the growing cult complex near the cave and springs or among the monuments of the city centre." [20]

In his footnotes Wilson cited André de Ridder and Hugo Meyer, neither of whom expressed such a belief, and even speculated that the bust "may have been carved in Antioch" (here he cited Friedland's 1997 dissertation, pages 243-244).

Although Sotheby's 2010 description of the bust - Lot 9 in the auction - states it was found at Banias/Paneas/Caesarea Philippi in the Golan Heights, for some reason the name "Baniyas" was added for the location. It is as if they were hedging their bets on the issue:

"Found at ancient Banias (or Paneas), later Caesarea Philippi (modern-day Baniyas in the Golan Heights)" [see note 9]

A short article to accompany details of the Sotheby's lot generally followed the arguments used by Wilson, suggesting that the bust may have been set up in a place of honour at Paneas/Caesarea Philippi, such as the Augusteum. It even called Flaccus "a local military figure or magistrate of Syria", although there is no evidence for this, "a descendant of one of the most prominent patrician families of Rome, the Gens Valeria", who "acted as a public benefactor of the city of Banias by acquiring for her a finely carved and polished portrait bust of Antinous". It also attempted to explain why Flaccus chose to have the dedicatory inscription carved in Greek rather than Latin [21].

The publicity for the 2018 Ashmolean Museum exhibition stated:

"Bust of Antinous with Greek inscription. Discovered in Balanea, Syria in 1879." [see note 10]

As we have seen above, 1879 was the date of the first publication of the bust by Beaudouin and Pottier, but I have found no previous source that states it was found or even entered Péretié's collection in that year. Other publications have carefully avoided giving a date for the sculpture's discovery.

At least those scholars who support the idea that the bust is from Paneas/Caesarea Philippi can imagine possible spacial and cultural contexts for the sculpture. The popularity of this kind of speculation may partly be due to the increased interest in the place since the recent archaeological discoveries made there, as well as the attractiveness of the site and its surrounding natural environment. On the other hand, members of the Baniyas/Balanea camp are denied this luxury as long as the archaeological and topographical knowledge of the ancient port remain insufficient to fuel such conjecture. Given the present terrible political situation in Syria, this situation is unlikely to change in the near future.

This may all sound more than a little academic or trivial, but it typifies the kind of muddle in which historical facts can get tangled and lost, and the problems faced by modern researchers and writers. From at least the time of the pioneering German archaeologist Konrad Levezow (1770-1835), there has been an awareness that precise information about the location and circumstances of archaeological finds can be crucial to gaining understanding of not only the objects themselves but also the nature of the sites as well the people who used the spaces (houses, marketplaces, sanctuaries, cemeteries, etc). Such data also adds to the quality as well as the quantity of the information gleaned from finds.

Purchased in Rome around 1770 by the art dealer Giovanni Ludovico Bianconi, acting as an agent for King Friedrich II of Prussia (Frederick the Great, 1712-1786). It was then restored in the workshop of the sculptor and restorer Bartolomeo Cavaceppi in Rome. On its arrival in Berlin the restored bust was considered by Matthias Oesterreich to be a modern replica, and at first (before 1772) it was set up in the gardens of the Neues Palais, Sanssouci, Potsdam. The work was reevaluated in 1830, after which it was moved to the Königliche Museum in Berlin.

This photo of the "Ludovisi Antinous" (taken in April 2015) originally appeared further down this page, among copies and doubtful artworks associated with Antinous. But it has recently been redeemed and shown to have originally been a genuine ancient portrait bust of Hadrian's favourite.

As with other busts of Antinous, he is shown with typically wavy hair, and a broad chest with smooth muscles. His head is turned slightly to the left and downwards, as in statues of deities and emperors, looking down from their high pedestals at the viewers or worshippers below.

But anyone who has seen this bust or even photos of it, will have noticed that the face does not quite fit the head. Viewed from the left it does not look too bad. The face has been carved competently but it seems somewhat bland and a little too small. From the right, however, the face has obviously been badly stuck on to the front of the head and does appear to belong there at all.

It has long been thought that the ancient bust, perhaps portraying someone else, was given a modern face of Antinous by a restorer for a client, or so that it could be more easily be sold in Rome where there was a good market for portraits of the young man. This kind of creative restoration was common practice in Italy after the Renaissance, and particularly in the 18th century, as the demand for ancient sculptures increased among wealthy tourists and private collectors. A number of famous "ancient" statues have since turned out to be confections created in the workshops of modern sculptors.

The date and place of the bust's discovery are unknown, but it may have been found or acquired in the early 17th century by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi for his collection in the Villa Ludovisi, Rome (see also the "San Ildefonso Group" below). A larger-than-life-size head and chest of "Antonio" is recorded in a 1641 inventory of the Palazzo Grande on the Ludovisi estate. The German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann noted the odd composition of the bust, seen during his visit to the villa in 1756: "The head is noticably new. The back of the head and chest are old." ("Der Kopf ist wahrhaftig neu. Der Hinter Kopf u. die Brust sind alt." Ville e palazzo, page 250)

The bust was mentioned a number of times during the ensuing centuries. In 1901 it was among the 104 ancient sculptures from the Ludovisi Collection sold by the Boncompagni Ludovisi family to the Italian state. The artworks were moved to the National Museum of Rome at the Baths of Diocletian, then transferred to the Palazzo Altemps in 1997.

In 1898 Charles Lawrence Hutchinson (1854-1924), the first president of the Art Institute of Chicago, purchased a marble relief head of Antinous (see photos, right) for his private collection from the artist and antiquarian Attilio Simonetti (1843-1925) at the Palazzo Odescalchi, Rome. Following Hutchinson's death in 1924 the relief was given to the Art Institute.

In an article about the relief published in Art in America in December 1913, Frank B. Tarbell, Art Institute curator, asserted that it was a fragment from a statue or bust carved in the round, and that it belonged typologically to a group of portraits distinguished by a common hairstyle. [22] Both his claims were eventually proved to be correct, and by the early 1960s the head fragment had been freed from the marble plaque and plaster restorations.

After examining the "Ludovisi Antinous" bust in the Palazzo Altemps, in 2005 W. Raymond Johnson, an Egyptologist at the University of Chicago, suggested to the Art Institute that the museum’s fragment may have been originally part of the bust. Over the following decade Karen Manchester, Chair and Curator of Ancient and Byzantine Art at the Art Institute led an international research project aimed at testing Johnson's hypothesis, entailing cooperation between scholars, technicians and other specialists and close collaboration with the University of Chicago, the Palazzo Altemps and other institutions. A number of techniques were used, including laser scanning, 3D computer modelling and 3D printing, as well as isotopic and petrographic analysis of the marble samples from both the Ludovisi bust and the Chicago fragment. These latter tests showed such a close match that it seems very likely that both pieces are from the same block of stone.

In a moment of truth in 2013, a copy of the fragment was found to fit exactly to a copy of the Ludovisi bust with the modern face "removed". From this fit a plaster cast has been made to demonstrate the bust's original appearance.

The "Townley Antinous", a marble head
of Antinous as Dionysus, wearing an ivy
wreath, on a modern bust.

130-138 AD. Excavated in 1770 near
the Villa Pamphili, on the Janiculum Hill,
Trastevere, Rome. Found with parts of the
statue to which it belonged built into a wall.
The head had been used as a foundation
stone. Parian marble. Height 60 cm.

Marble head of Antinous as Dionysus,
wearing a laurel wreath with berries,
on a modern bust.

"Haupttypus", variant B. Pentelic marble.
Nose and piece on top of head with
attachment restored. Height 72 cm;
antique part 38.5 cm.

Pausanias on Antinous worshipped as Dionysus in Mantineia, Arkadia, Peloponnese:

"Antinous too was deified by them; his temple is the newest in Mantineia. He was a great favourite of the Emperor Hadrian. I never saw him in the flesh, but I have seen images and pictures of him. He has honours in other places also, and on the Nile is an Egyptian city named after Antinous. He has won worship in Mantineia for the following reason. Antinous was by birth from Bithynium beyond the river Sangarius, and the Bithynians are by descent Arcadians of Mantineia.

For this reason the Emperor established his worship in Mantineia also; mystic rites are celebrated in his honour each year, and games every four years. There is a building in the gymnasium of Mantineia containing statues of Antinous, and remarkable for the stones with which it is adorned, and especially so for its pictures. Most of them are portraits of Antinous, who is made to look just like Dionysus. There is also a copy here of the painting in the Cerameicus which represented the engagement of the Athenians at Mantineia. [24]

. . .

There are roads leading from Mantineia into the rest of Arcadia, and I will go on to describe the most noteworthy objects on each of them. On the left of the highway leading to Tegea there is, beside the walls of Mantineia, a place where horses race, and not far from it is a race-course, where they celebrate the games in honor of Antinous. Above the race-course is Mount Alesium, so called from the wandering [ale] of Rhea, on which is a grove of Demeter."

Colossal marble statue of Antinous
as Dionysus/Bacchus.

Roman creation, 2nd century AD. Provenance
unknown. Recorded as being in the Farnese
Collection in Rome from 1644. Height 297 cm.

National Archaeological Museum, Naples.
Inv. No. 6314.

Black marble statuette of Antinous as Dionysus.

130-134 AD. Provenance unknown. From the collection of Giovanni Grimani (1506-1593),
bishop and patriarch of Aquileia, in Venice. Nero antico marble from Göktepe, near
Aphrodisias (Turkey). Restored height 86.5 cm; height of surviving ancient work 57 cm.

Although the figure has been compared to statues of Apollo, it was identified
as Antinous-Dionysus, and the staff he holds in his left hand is thought to be
part of the wine god's thyrsos (see Dionysus).

Found around 1698-1704 in the garden of the Villa Casali, on the Caelian Hill, Rome, thought to be the location of the house of the Roman senator and governor Gaudentius (late 4th century AD). It was exhibited at the Villa Casali and admired by many visitors, including Johann Joachim Winckelmann.

When the villa was demolished in 1884, the Casali family sold the statue, and in 1888 it was in the possession of the art collector G. Scalambrini. He sold it to the Belgian art collector Léon Somzée, who took it to Brussels. In 1903 Carl Jacobsen purchased it for the newly built Glyptothek in Copenhagen, which opened 1906. The left arm and thyrsos, restorer's additions, were replaced by new parts during the latest restoration in 2001.

Image source: engraving by Domenico de Rossi (1659-1730), in: Paolo Alessandro Maffei (1653-1716), Domenico de Rossi, Raccolta Di Statue Antiche e Moderne Data In Luce Sotto I Gloriosi Auspici Della ... Papa Clemente XI, CXXXVIII, Bacco, pages 128-129 and Plate 138. Stamperia alla Pace, Rome, 1704. At the Internet Archive.

Marble statue of Antinous, of the type
Dionysus or Asklepios, standing next
to the Delphic omphalos.

Found in 1860 in Eleusis. 2nd century AD.
Height 167 cm.

The statue may have stood in the outer
courtyard of the Sanctuary of Demeter.
Antinous was with Hadrian and the
imperial entourage at the celebration
of the Eleusinian Mysteries in 128/9 AD,
and may have been initiated into the cult
at Eleusis (see Demeter). An ephebic
festival known as the Antinoeia was
established there in his honour.

Purchased in 1728 in Rome for August the Strong (August II. der Starke, 1670-1733), elector of Saxony and king of Poland, from Prince Augusto Chigi (1662-1744), among 160 sculptures acquired from the collection of his father Prince Agostino Chigi (1634-1705). August's agents also purchased 34 works from the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani.

Previously thought to represent Isis or a sphinx, the head was only identified as a portrait of Antinous at the beginning of the 19th century. The stone certainly looks like deep red sandstone, as stated by the museum labelling and literature and a number of other sources. A few sources state quartzite, and at least one author has suggested it may be Egyptian granite.

Exhibited in the Albertinum, Dresden since 1730, it is currently (2017) in a makeshift (and dismally lit) temporary exhibition of ancient sculptures in crowded display cases, following the removal of the antiquities collection from the museum's basement due the flooding of the River Elbe in 2002.

Egyptianizing statue of Antinous as the Egyptian god Osiris.

Marble, 2nd century AD. From the western porch of the
sanctuary of Isis and Osiris (Αιγυπτιακό ιερό στην Μπρεξίζα,
the Egyptian Temple at Brexiza) on a man-made islet at the
edge of the small marsh of Brexiza, southeast of Marathon,
Attica, built by the wealthy Athenian Herodes Atticus (circa
101-177 AD) who also founded a cult for his young protegé Polydeukes.

Another, almost identical statue, found the north porch of the sanctuary, depicting "Antinous-Osiris" wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

It has been pointed out that the faces of these statues do not resemble other portraits of Antinous, and it has been suggested that they may represent one of the adopted sons of Herodes Atticus, perhaps Achilles or Polydeukes (see portraits of Polydeukes on the Herodes Atticus page).

The colossal marble statue was found almost intact in April 1793, during excavations by the Scottish painter, antiquarian and antiquities dealer Gavin Hamilton (1723-1798) at what is thought to have been the villa of Hadrian at Praeneste (today Palestrina), 35 kilometres east of Rome. It was restored 1793-1795 for Pope Pius VI (Giovanni Angelo Graf Braschi, 1717-1799) by the papal sculptor Giovanni Pierantoni (1742-1817). Pius presented it to his nephew Duke Luigi Braschi Onesti (1745-1816), who placed it in his unfinished Palazzo Braschi, Rome.

During the Napoleonic occupation of Rome, 1798-1802, the French occupied the Palazzo Braschi and confiscated Onesti's recently acquired antiquities with the intention of transporting them to Paris. However, the statue remained in Rome and was returned to Onesti in 1801. His son, Pio Braschi Onesti, sold it to Pope Gregory XIV in 1843, and it was exhibited in the Lateran Museum from 1844. In 1863 Pope Pius IX had it moved to the Museo Pio Clementino.

The restored figure appears more Dionysian than Osirian. He wears a crown of ivy leaves and berries, and a diadem over which may originally have been a uraeus (cobra), replaced by modern restorers with a lotus blossom (interpreted by some as a pine cone). The Dionysian attributes of the thyrsos and the cista (mystical chest) next to the left foot are also modern additions.

Pierantoni also restored the statue of Antinous now in the Lady Lever Art Gallery (see below).

Image source: Ernest H. Short, A history of sculpture, page 136. William Heinemann, London, 1907. At the Internet Archive.

Other statues of Osiris-Antinous include:

Antinous as Osiris, Gregorian Egyptian Museum, Vatican Museums. Inv. No. 22795. Parian marble. Height 241 cm, width 77 cm, depth 79 cm. Found in 1736 in the Serapaeum of the Canope at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli.

Marble relief showing Antinous as Silvanus, the Roman god of the woods, harvesting grapes.

130-138 AD. Found in 1907 in the ruins of a villa in a residential area
at Torre del Padiglione, between Lanuvio and Anzio. Pentelic marble.
Height 143 cm, width at top 69 cm, width at bottom 63 cm, depth 11 cm.

The figure wears a crown made of a pine branch and a short tunic, and holds a falx (sickle) in his
right hand. A dog stands on the right. On the left is an altar topped by a pine cone, and on the
side the signature of the artist Antonianos of Aphrodisias (see photo below) inscribed in Greek.

Ephesian coins from the reigns of Hadrian (117-138 AD) to Gallienus (253-268 AD) show Androklos hunting a wild boar, a reference to the founding legend of Ephesus related by Athenaeus of Naucratis (see Ephesus gallery page 22). One of the earliest, from Hadrian's reign, shows a bust of Antinous with the inscription "Heros Antinoos" on the obverse side. The reverse shows a youthful Androklos standing in a heroic pose, naked apart from a chlamys (short cloak, as in the statue of Antinous above), in front of an olive tree, and the inscription "Ephesion Androklos". He holds a spear in his left hand and carries a dead boar in his right hand.

Coins from the mid 2nd to 3rd century show the head of the current emperor on the obverse side, and on the reverse a similar representation of Androklos, sometimes with a hunting dog. Others show Androklos hunting a boar either with a spear or on horseback, or standing next to the hero Koressos with both holding the dead boar.

Slightly larger than lifesize, the statue depicts Antinous as an athletic nude looking up at a wine cup, raised high in his right hand. He holds a jug in the lowered left hand by his side. His discarded garment is draped over a tree stump which acts as a prop for the marble figure. The cup and jug were added during the restoration around 1794-1796 by the sculptor Giovanni Pierantoni (1742-1817), who also restored the "Antinous Braschi" (see above). Other additions include: "the tip of the nose, both forearms, the lower half of left leg and four toes of the right foot" (Christie's catalogue, 1917, see below).

The restored figure has been interpreted as "Antinous as Ganymede", the youth abducted by Zeus, and often referred to as Zeus' cup-bearer. It has also been thought to depict Antinous as Hadrian's cup-bearer, one of the youths who poured wine at symposia (drinking feasts), a menial role with homoerotic connotations. Originally, the statue may have presented Antinous as a god, hero or victorious athlete.

The Arch of Constantine, the largest ancient monumental gateway in Rome and perhaps the last to be built in the city, stands astride the Via Triumphalis (the Triumphal Way), in the Valley of the Colosseum, between the east side of the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum.

In 315/316 AD the Senate and people of Rome dedicated the triumphal arch to Emperor Constantine (reigned 306-337 AD) to celebrate his decennalia (ten years as emperor) and his victory over his rival emperor Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD. However, it has been argued that the arch itself may have been erected during the reign of an earlier emperor, perhaps Hadrian, Maxentius or even as early as Domitian (81-96 AD).

The archway is 21 metres high, 25.9 metres wide and 7.4 metres deep. The main central arch, 11.5 metres high and 6.5 metres wide, is flanked by two smaller lateral arches, each 7.4 metres high and 3.4 metres wide. The building is covered with reliefs, many taken from earlier monuments of the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius.

Above each of the lateral arches, on both sides of the building, is a pair of marble tondos (or roundels) taken from an unknown monument of Emperor Hadrian, depicting scenes of hunting and sacrificing. The tondos are all around 2.4 metres in diameter. The tondo pairs are displayed on the archway as follows:

North face: left side, boar hunt, sacrifice to Apollo; right side, lion hunt, sacrifice to Hercules.

South face: left, departure for the hunt, sacrifice to Silvanus; right, bear hunt, sacrifice to Diana.

Many scholars are convinced that the central figure in the boar hunt scene is Antinous and that he may also be portrayed in other tondi. Although there appears to be no direct evidence for this, the head of the young man has been compared to other known portraits of Antinous. It is not known whether the scenes depict historical events or are allegorical, but Hadrian's alleged hunting exploits are mentioned in ancient literature, including a contemporary poem by the Alexandrian poet Pancrates in which Hadrian and Antinous hunt a lion in the Lybian desert. [25]

The relief below the pair of tondos above is part of the frieze from the time of Constantine that runs around the archway, depicting scenes of his victory over Maxentius and his acceptance as co-emperor by the people of Rome. In this scene, known as Oratio, he speaks to the citizens in the Forum after his victory. Unfortunately, the emperor has lost his head.

Colossal marble statue with cornucopia, snake and portrait
head of Antinous, interpreted as "Antinous Agathodaemon".

Around 130-138 AD. Height 237 cm.

The ancient head of Antinous, of unknown provenance, and the torso, said to have been found in the Tiber in 1760, are thought not belong to each other, and were probably combined by the sculptor and restorer Bartolomeo Cavaceppi in Rome. He may have also added the snake and other attributes. The restored figure has been interpreted as Agathos Daimon, a protective spirit.

Purchased in 1766 from Cavaceppi's workshop by the art dealer Giovanni Ludovico Bianconi, acting as an agent for King Friedrich II of Prussia (Frederick the Great, 1712-1786). It was set up outside Friedrich's Neues Palais, Sanssouci, Potsdam. Nine of the twenty two sculptures purchased for Friedrich in Rome between 1766 and 1768 had been restored by Cavaceppi.

The marble torso of an "Omphalos Apollo" type statue modified as Antinous.

Around 130-138 AD. Height 189.5 cm.
Torso of Greek island marble, perhaps from Paros.

The torso, found in 1744 in the River Tiber near Rome, is one of several Roman period statues of the "Omphalos Apollo" type, believed to be copies of a Greek bronze original of the Severe style, made around 460-450 BC, perhaps by Kalamis.

The figure was restored by Bartolomeo Cavaceppi to resemble the "Capitoline Antinous" (see below). The head is from another, perhaps ancient statue, possibly of Hermes or an athlete. The close curls of the hair particularly are more typical of Hermes than Apollo, and are quite different to the style of other examples of the "Omphalos Apollo" type.

Also added were: the right forearm from the elbow to the wrist; the left arm from the middle of the upper arm, including the himation (cloak) and the stick-like object (Apollo would have held a bow or arrow, Hermes a caduceus); the genitals (the pubic hair was removed during a second restoration); the lower left thigh and left foot; the right leg and the palm tree trunk support.

The statue was purchased in Rome in 1766 by Giovanni Ludovico Bianconi, acting as an agent for King Friedrich II of Prussia (Frederick the Great). It was set up with 13 other statues in the Half Rondel in the gardens of Friedrich's Neues Palais, at his Sanssouci (without worries) estate, Potsdam, near Berlin. Later the statues were replaced by copies (see photos below).

The so-called "Capitoline Antinous",
a marble statue of Hermes previously
believed to be a portrait of Antinous.

Roman period copy of a 4th century BC Greek
original. Luni (Carrara) marble. Height 180.1 cm.

Found at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli in 1738 during
excavations financed by Cardinal Alessandro
Albani, and restored by Pietro Bracci. Albani ceded
his right to it to Pope Clement XII who donated
it to the Capitoline Museums. Taken to the Louvre,
Paris by Napoleon, following the Treaty of Tolentino
in 1791, and returned to the Capitoline in 1816.

The restored figure is thought to have originally
held an inverted kerykeion (with the top pointing
downwards) in his right hand, perhaps conducting
a deceased person to Hades.

Palazzo Nuovo, Capitoline Museums, Rome.
Inv. No. MC 741.
From the Albani Collection (Inv. No. D 8).

Head of a young man, perhaps Antinous.

3rd decade of the 2nd century AD.

Marble head of a young man, the so-called
"Triptolemos". This is the only known head
of this type, identified as Triptolemos, the
young Eleusinian prince associated with
the cult of Demeter. The features strongly
resemble those of portraits of Antinous.

Roman period, 120-140 AD, perhaps a
copy of a Greek Classical type. Allegedly
found near Herculaneum (Italy) in 1750.
Height 34.7 cm, width 22.5 cm, depth 26 cm.

Purchased in Italy in 1755 by Markgräfin
Wilhelmine von Bayreuth, who left it in her
will to Frederick the Great in 1758/1759.
Separated from its Baroque bust, it entered
the Königliche Museum, Berlin in 1830.

Head of a young man with a
restored nose, possibly Eros.

Circa 130-140 AD.

Head of the "Antiochos type".

From Metropolis (Torbali, Turkey).
Circa 30 BC - 100 AD.

The original statue group, made of white Carrara marble, is in the Museo del Prado, Madrid (Inv. No. 28-E). Also known as the Ildefonso Group, it was named after San Ildefonso in Segovia, Spain, where it was kept at the palace of La Granja until 1839 when it was acquired by the Prado.

Probably found in the early 17th century in Rome, the earliest record of the sculpture is in 1623 when it was in the collection of Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi at the Villa Ludovisi, Rome. After the cardinal's death it became the property of Cardinal Camillo Massimo, then of Queen Christine of Sweden, and in 1724 it was acquired by King Felipe V of Spain.

It is thought that the sculpture was made during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD), and at some point the head of the youth on the left was replaced by a portrait of Antinous. This may have occurred either during Hadrian's reign or, more probably, when it was restored around 1623 by Ippolito Buzzi (1562-1634).

There is no other known statue group of this type, which is thought to be a Neo Attic creation inspired by works of 5th and 4th century BC Greek sculptors such as Polykleitos and Praxiteles. However, a statuette in Athens is clearly a version of the right-hand figure of the group (see photo below). It has been suggested that the group may be a work by Pasiteles or his school.

Two idealized nude youths, wearing laurel wreaths, stand next to each other. The figure on the left leans on the other who holds two torches, with one of which he ignites an altar. The youths have been variously identified as Castor and Pollux, Orestes and Pylades, Hypnos and Thanatos (Sleep and Death), and Corydon and Alexis.

Behind the right-hand figure stands a small Archaistic female figure (see photo, right) wearing a polos and a peplos, thought to be a statue of a goddess, perhaps Persephone or Artemis. Her right arm is bent, and in her raised right hand she holds a small round object, interpreted as an egg or a pomegranate, to her breast. (For further information, see the article about this sculpture on the Dioskouroi page.)

The Dresden cast is well finished and polished, and is in remarkably good condition considering its history. It has been transported a number of times, and has survived the World War II bombings, confiscation by the Soviet government and the flooding of the River Elbe in 2002.

A marble statuette of a youth
of the Ildefonso type.

Around the end of the 1st century BC.
Provenance unknown.
"Probably Pentelic marble".

Anonymous engraving of the San Ildefonso Group,
published by Johann Winckelmann in 1767. The
print was produced after the group was sent to
Spain, and the original drawing may have depicted
a plaster cast, made around 1687-1706, which
stood in the French Academy in Rome.

Several of the ancient sculptures set up by Friedrich II at his Sanssouci estate in Potsdam were later moved to the Berlin State Museums. They were replaced by replicas made in the mid 19th century by Streichenberg and Alessandro and Francesco Sanguinetti (see the note in Demeter Part 2).

1. Antinoopolis

The city of Antinoopolis, also referred to as Antinoe, was built on the site of Hir-we, an ancient harbour on the east bank of the Nile, in the Middle Nile region. The ruins today lie near the village of Sheikh 'Ibada. Antinous became the primary deity of the city, worshipped as Osiris-Antinous, alongside the traditional main deity Bes. The chief deity of Hermopolis (Greek, Ἑρμοῦπόλις Μεγάλη, Hermoupolis Megale; Latin, Hermopolis Magna; Egyptian, Khemenu) on the opposite bank of the Nile was Thoth, the underworld god identified by the Greeks with Hermes after whom the city was renamed during Ptolemaic times. Its remains are located near the modern town of El Ashmunein.

Read a report on the current situation (2013) at the site of Antinoopolis, detailing the destruction by unhindered looting, vandalism and illegal building:

2. Inscriptions on the Obelisk of Antinous

Roger Pearse has translated part of the inscription from the French translation in: Jean-Claude Grenier, L’Osiris Antinoos, CENIM I (Cahiers Égypte Nilotique et Mediteranéene), Montpellier, 2008.

See www.roger-pearse.com

According to another (uncredited) attempt to translate the entire text at www.antinopolis.org, the passage reads:

3. The date of the Delphi Antinous discovery

Some recent articles state that the Antinous statue in Delphi was discovered in 1893. The literature of the Delphi Archaeological Museum and other sources state 1894.

See, for example:

Gustave Blum, L'Antinoos de Delphes. In: Bulletin de correspondance Hellénique, Volume 37, 1913, pages 323-339 (date of discovery of the statue on page 330). At Persée.

4. Herodotus on victims of the Nile

"Whenever any one, either of the Egyptians themselves or of strangers, is found to have been carried off by a crocodile or brought to his death by the river itself, the people of any city by which he may have been cast up on land must embalm him and lay him out in the fairest way they can and bury him in a sacred burial-place, nor may any of his relations or friends besides touch him, but the priests of the Nile themselves handle the corpse and bury it as that of one who was something more than man."

5. "The strong and pithy Delphic Twins"

6. Marcus Lucius Flaccus inscription

The inscription is usually transcribed using conventional classical Greek lettering, with the abbreviated first name restored as Μάρκος (Markos; Latin, Marcus):

Ἀντινόῳ ἥρωϊ
Μ(άρκος) Λούκκιος Φλάκκος.

Antinoo heroi
M(arkos) Loykkios Flakkos

IGLSyr 4 1300 (also written IGLSyr IV 1300). Louis Jalabert and René Mouterde (editors), Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, Tome IV - Laodicée, Apamène, Nos. 1243-1997, No. 1300, pages 50-51. Institut Français d'Archéologie de Beyrouth. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique - Tome LXI. Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris 1955. Available as a free PDF at persée.

Louis Jalabert (1877-1943) and Marie Léon René Mouterde (1880-1961) were French Jesuit priests and archaeologists, who worked at the Université Saint-Joseph in Antoura, 18 km north of Beirut, Lebanon.

See also: IGLSyr 4 1300 at The Packard Humanities Institute.

7. M. Lucius Flaccus as member of the gens Valeria

See: K. R. Moore (editor), The Routledge companion to the reception of ancient Greek and Roman gender and sexuality, chapter on Ancient and Modern Cults of Antinous (no page numbers). Taylor & Francis, 2022. Preview at Googlebooks.

8. Aimé Péretié and Louis de Clercq

A brief biography of de Clercq, including details of his travels, collecting activities and his relationship with Péretié, was included as an introductory chapter to Volume 3 of the catalogue of his collection, published four years after his death. Some of the information about his first trip to the eastern Mediterranean was taken from his diary, which stops at the 4 November 1859 when he left Beirut for Baalbeck.

9. The Clarence Day auction at Sotheby's, New York

Auction of antiquities from the collection of the late Clarence Day, Sale No. 8723, Sotheby's, 7th December 2010. "Lot 9, A marble portrait bust of Antinous, Roman Imperial, reign of Hadrian, circa A.D. 130-138". See: www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/...

The webpage also lists the bust's modern owners:

10. Ashmolean Museum Antinous exhibition 2018-2019

See:

Antinous: Boy made God, free exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 25 September 2018 - 24 February 2019. At the Ashmolean Museum website.

Exibtion press release, 3 September 2018: Two exhibitions exploring LGBTQ+ histories. PDF at the Ashmolean Museum website.

The book to accompany the exhibition: R. R. R. Smith, Antinous: Boy Made God. Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, 2018. 128 Pages. Illustrated. Paperback. 220 mm x 160 mm. On sale at the Ashmolean Museum website.

11. Banias/Paneas/Caesarea Philippi

12. Paneas as "Baniyas"

"The archaeological survey conducted by the author at Baniyas in 1983 ... Baniyas is situated at the junction of the northern Golan, the northern Hila Valley and Mount Hermon. The area is rich in water."

Moshe Hartal, The Baniyas Survey. In: Moshe Hartal, Paneas IV: The aqueduct and the northern suburbs, chapter 1. IAA Reports, No. 40. Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, 2009. At academia.edu.

13. The Péretié Collection in Beirut

A short article by the English soldier, explorer and antiquarian, Claude Reignier Conder (1848-1910), published in 1881, two years after that of Beaudouin and Pottier, described some of what he considered the most interesting objects he saw during his visit to Péretié's collection of antiques in Beirut, "probably the finest in Syria". His attention was drawn principally to a few artefacts associated with Middle Eastern cultures (Phoenician, Palmyran, Assyrian, Egyptian), with a brief mention (page 214) of "bronzes with negro features dug up on the Syrian coast", Seleucid coins and classical figures, including a number of statues of Venus (later in the de Clercq Collection). Unfortunately, he provided no description of Péretié himself, where or how his collection was kept or displayed, and he made no mention of the Antinous bust.

Claude R. Conder, The collection of M. Péretié. In: Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 3, pages 214-218. Palestine Exploration Fund, London, 1881. PDF at tandfonline.com.

As a young lieutenant, Conder (referred to by Wilson as Condor [see note 20]) was involved in a survey of Palestine in 1872-1874, 1875-1878, 1881 and 1882. During this time he was seconded to the Palestine Exploration Fund and promoted to captain. He worked and travelled with an old school friend, Lieutenant Kitchener, later Lord Kitchener, with whom he wrote reports on the survey work.

14. Appendices, errata and addenda

15. Dead ends on the provenance of the de Clercq bust

For example, two articles often cited are reviews - both quite scathing - of Antinoos, eine kunstarchäologische Untersuchung (Antinoos, an art-archaeological examination) by the Norwegian historian Lorentz Dietrichson (1834-1917), published in 1884, two years after the bust became part of the de Clercq Collection. Dietrichson did not mention the bust, and has been criticized for other omissions and inaccuracies. However, the 357-page work (plus a further 18 plates with drawings) was meant as a student textbook, a "Universitätsprogramm für das erste Semester" ("University programme for the first semester"), and remains a notable achievement for its time.

Lorentz Dietrichson, Antinoos: eine kunstarchäologische Untersuchung. H. Aschehoug & Co., Christiania (Oslo), 1884. At the Internet Archive.

The review by the French archaeologist Salomon Reinach (1858-1932) contains a long list of brief corrections to what he considered the book's errors and omissions. He pointed out that Dietrichson had omitted Beaudouin and Pottier's mention of the pedestal inscription (of the Antinous bust) in the Péretié Collection. And that's it. He confirmed, proved or disproved nothing, added no new evidence or arguments, and did not even mention the bust itself.

"P. 330 - Ajoutez un piédestal trouvé à Panias, qui faisait partie de la collection Péretié à Beyrouth, avec l'inscription Ἀντινόῳ ἥρωϊ. Μ. Λούκκιος Φλάκκος (Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, III, p. 259)."

("P. 330 - Add a pedestal found in Panias that was part of the Péretié Collection in Beirut, with the inscription Ἀντινόῳ ἥρωϊ. Μ. Λούκκιος Φλάκκος (Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, III, p. 259). ")

Salomon Reinach, review of L. Dietrichson, Antinoos. In: Revue critique d'histoire et de littérature, Tome 19, No. 19, 11 Mai 1885, pages 357-367 (quote on page 366). Ernest Leroux, Paris, 1885. At the Internet Archive.

The review by the German archaeologist Adolf Michaelis (1835-1910) was also highly critical of Dietrichson's book, but made no mention of the bust.

16. Pirro Marconi on the Antinous bust in Beirut

Marconi's very brief catalogue entry on the bust:

"Beyruth. N. 129. Busto d'Antinoo. Samuel Pérétié, Bull, de corr. ell., III, 1879, p. 259. Non ho altra notizia, oltre la presente indicazione."

17. Elise A. Friedland's article on Caesarea Philippi/Paneas

18. Hugo Meyer's Antinoos

19. Friedland's book on Caesarea Philippi/Paneas

Elise A. Friedland, The Roman Marble Sculptures from the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi/Panias (Israel), Appendix 4: Bust of Antinous from Caesarea Philippi/Panias. American Schools of Oriental Research Archaeological Reports, No. 17. American Schools of Oriental Research, Boston, 2012.

Neither this book nor the original dissertation are freely available online, but Friedland's references to the bust are mentioned in reviews:

20. John Francis Wilson on Banias/Caesarea Philippi

Since Wilson stated the emphasis of the book was on 'story', he concentrated on presenting a historical portrait of Banias. Although he included some of the remarks made by occasional foreign visitors since the 18th century (including Mark Twain, chapter 11: European 'Rediscovery'), he avoided discussing in detail specific archaeological excavations (official or otherwise), ancient art or architecture.

21. Greek, Latin and the cult of Antinous

For further discussion concerning the political, cultural and religious significance of the use of Greek rather than Latin in the eastern Roman Empire for the cult of the deified Antinous, see:

Nicole Belayche, Antinoos divinisé: Des mots grecs pour l’écrire. In: Mètis, Anthropologie des mondes grecs anciens, N. S. 17, pages 267-289. Éditions de l’ehess - Daedalus, Paris and Athens, 2017. At academia.edu.

The article's title has been translated as Antinous divinized: the Greek words to express it. It could well have been "the Greeks have a word for it". Belayche points out that Antinous was called "hêrôs more often than theos", and was ἡμίθεος θεοειδής but not a Roman diuus.

22. The Tarbell article

23. The Chicago connection

See:

An article with photos and a video on the exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, 2 April – 5 September 2016. The "two parts" in the title refers to the portrait; the article and video each have only one part.

A portrait of Antinous, in two parts. At the website of the Art Institute of Chicago.

A report on the website of the Villa Ludovisi, May 2016:

Ex-Ludovisi portrait of Antinous, long split between Rome and Chicago, stunningly matched then reunited through thrilling technology.

A more detailed illustrated report on the research on the Chicago portrait head fragment and the Ludovisi bust, by Karen Manchester and other members of the research team. Includes technical details, photos and diagrams.

Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Cat. 9 Fragment of a portrait head of Antinous. At the website of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The discussion of the history of the Ludovisi bust includes a refutation of the oft-repeated but erroneous claim that it only became part of the Ludovisi Collection around 1794.

24. Paintings of the Battle of Mantineia

25. Arch of Constantine, further reading

See: Gerald A. Hess, The Hadrianic tondi on the Arch of Constantine: new perspectives on the eastern paradigms. PhD dissertation, Department of Art History, Pennsylvania State University, 2011.

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